WHWC calls for action on housing shortage

The Welcome Home Westchester Campaign (WHWC) has called on local officials not to wait for action from New York state on housing but to move now on their own to address the county’s housing needs.

WHWC’s organizing partners include: the Building & Realty Institute; the Regional Plan Association; the Westchester County Association; Nonprofit Westchester; the Housing Action Council; Pace University Land Use Law Center; Westhab, Inc.; and the Construction Industry Council.

Standing in front of 70 Pier St. in the Ludlow section on Yonkers, which is a relatively new residential building, members of the group unveiled its “5 in 2025” Agenda, which provides five actions WHWC believes municipalities can take to remove barriers to building needed housing.

“In the world of housing, the buck stops at the local level,” Tim Foley, CEO of the Building & Realty Institute said. “Mayors, supervisors, trustees, councilmembers and the dedicated volunteers who make up local land use boards have the ultimate authority on what gets built where, and whether their neighborhoods remain mired in the outdated and inefficient processes that led to the housing shortage crunch or will be welcoming to all who want to live and work here. With our ‘5 in 2025’ we’re highlighting the policies that we know work because they are already working in one of Westchester’s diverse communities without upsetting quality of life or overtaxing our infrastructure. The time to act is now.”

According to Michael Romita, president and CEO of the Westchester County Association, “New York’s housing crisis, particularly acute in our suburbs, continues to undermine the health of our economy and the vibrancy of our communities. It will not be magically wished away. Rather, we need our local towns and villages to see past the NIMBY rhetoric and to work with us.”

Jan Fisher, executive director of Nonprofit Westchester said, “As the voice for Westchester’s nonprofit sector, we are committed to advocating for solutions that provide safe, accessible, and affordable homes for everyone in our community.”

The “5 in 2025” Agenda suggests that localities produce a housing action plan, create a fast-track for environmental review of housing proposals, promote accessory dwelling units and transit-oriented development, establish a training curriculum for volunteers on land-use boards, and take advantage of the state’s Pro-Housing Communities Program by becoming a pro-housing community.